Thursday, March 24, 2011

I can Barely Reach the Keyboard from the Floor

I'm still here! I haven't fallen off the face of the earth...at least, I don't think I have! Still trying to figure out where the bump on my head came from. Just kidding. Life and circumstances have a way of taking us out sometimes. And we find ourselves on the floor looking up, rubbing our head and wondering what hit us!

That would be the case for me over the past several weeks. First, back to back travels in the middle of two different weeks in a row (and following a few weekend trips before that) made it nearly impossible to study and write amidst the remaining responsibilities of a family of six. Afterward, I was simply out of the habit! UGH!

I have been writing in the past week for a couple other responsibilities, and I am also getting back to the blog! Back to our topic of healing. This next trip is going to require us to really buckle our seatbelts as we dig into...well...I won't say it yet. Some things are better NOT known ahead of time. :o) Sorry! It will also require some deep preparation time for me to deliver it in bites we can all swallow easily. So please be patient just a little longer.

In the meantime, remember this of Jesus:
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
   because the LORD has anointed me
   to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted
[that's you and me!],
   to proclaim freedom for the captives [us again!]
   and release from darkness for the prisoners [you got it!],
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
   and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,

 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
   instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
   instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
   instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
   a planting of the LORD
   for the display of his splendor. 


If you'd like a refresher from where we last walked together in this message of healing and freedom, you can find it here.
If you are new to the blog and want to know more of this heart healing--catch up to speed with the rest of us--(or you're not new and need to revisit and walk deeper still) you can find them in order from first to last here:
From Slavery to Freedom (this has been reworked and rewritten!)
What Band-Aids Won't Heal
The Proven Offer
When "Partial" Isn't Good Enough
One Size Does Not Fit All
The One Who Knows the Steps Holds the Key to our Heart
The Truth Will Set You Free (this is where we left off and is the same link as above in the highlighted "here" link)

Friday, March 11, 2011

Deep Sea Adventure

This week I had the pleasure of accompanying my 6th grader and her honors classmates on an overnight field trip to the Georgia Aquarium. It is the world's largest aquarium primarily because of the Ocean Voyager, where thousands of animals from the deep blue sea peruse around in 6.3 million gallons of water! We were privy to behind the scenes tours of this massive tank, among others, and sleeping overnight in the tropical fish room. It was definitely an experience to remember and my favorite short-term field trip to date!

Because of recent back-to-back travels, I have not been able to write weekly as I enjoy doing! But the 4-D film we watched while at the aquarium triggered some memories of another post that I want to share again this week. In the film, we were taken deep below where the scariest and ugliest of sea creatures exist. No one knows all that lurks there in these deepest, darkest oceans. Thousands of miles down under where there is no light, swim creatures with fangs and gruesome fish that eat their prey from the inside out. It is not a place most of us would want to go, given the opportunity.

Ironically, if we’re honest, almost every woman feels a bit that way about her heart. Deep unchartered waters of our past, insecurities that grip our present, painful things we have been through, and the sin we have clung to—not to mention all the labels we carry from these things. Oh how we fear exploring the depths; and we most certainly wouldn’t take our men there to look around, maybe not even our best friend. Heck, we don’t even want to go there ourselves! 

If they knew the true me, they would surely run! We feel we are just too much for anyone. 

Some of the things we’ve been through, and some of the things we’ve done (or fear we’re capable of doing), feel like hell to us.

But what if…just maybe…God’s love is deeper than the deepest hell? What if these things aren't the truest things about us?

To read the full blog, click here: Experience the Depth